Yes, technically Kantaro eats three bowls of mamekan in this particular episode, but I don’t think I quite have the stamina for that, and I definitely don’t have time to visit the three restaurants over multiple days. As much as I wish I had unlimited time in Tokyo, the clock is ticking.
I know what you’re thinking: pizza in Tokyo? Get out of here. I was thinking it too, but I dare you to watch this video and then not immediately want to check this place out.
When you think about it, it’s odd that we consider pancakes to be breakfast when really, they’re obviously dessert. I mean, “cake” is right there in the name. They’re doused in syrup. They’re dessert.
If you’re in Tokyo and you’re into watches, visiting the Seiko Museum is a no-brainer. It’s not particularly large, but it’s free, and it’s quite interesting.
In the episode where Kantaro goes to Minimal, a high-end chocolate shop, he gets a chocolate bar and a chocolate fondant tart. I was really hoping to get that tart, but apparently they only serve one type of dessert per month (it’s a very small shop) and this month it was a chocolate parfait.
You may have noticed that I’ve been in Tokyo for a while, but I haven’t written about ramen yet (no? Nobody noticed or cares? Yeah, that sounds about right).
If you have any interest in beer and an hour or so to kill, you could certainly do worse than checking out the Kirin Brewery in Yokohama, which is about a half hour train ride from Tokyo.
For one thing, you can’t beat the price: it’s absolutely free, and they give you a bunch of beer to sample.
Chestnut desserts don’t really get the respect they deserve back home. They basically don’t exist unless you really seek them out (and even then they’re difficult to find), and I don’t understand why. They’re quite tasty.
Add this to the always-growing list of line-based discoveries. The line-up at Yanagiya Taiyaki is pretty intense, even by Tokyo’s line-loving standards.
If you haven’t seen Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman on Netflix, you need to rectify that immediately. It’s basically a sitcom crossed with a food/travel show, all filtered through a lens of grade-A Japanese weirdness. It’s delightful.